Linda Kotzbauer and Carl Johnson dance along to Dennis McCurdy, a local lawyer, playing with his band Lonesome No More Sunday at Jergel's Rhythm Grille night during a fundraiser for flood victims.

WARRENDALE, Allegheny County — Residents of Harmony and Zelienople shook off the muddy floodwaters of the past two months and danced Sunday to the music of local artists during a fundraiser to help flood victims.

Community members staged Rising Above the Floodwaters, as the event was titled, at Jergel's Rhythm Grille, just south of Cranberry Township.

Residents of Harmony Township decided to put on the event, which featured musical performances, after heavy rainfall in May and June led to several flooding or near-flooding incidents to raise money for the affected communities such as Harmony Township that was inundated in May after heavy rainfall.

Listening to Dennis McCurdy, a local lawyer, belt out original tunes, residents such as Joe White, who chairs the Harmony Planning Committee, recalled the history of flooding from Connoquenessing Creek.

“Well, damn it to hell, if dateline Harmony didn't hit the front page of USA Today after Hurricane Ivan,” White said. “The world at large took it to mean that Harmony was destroyed. Fortunately, the death calls of Harmony were premature. But that was our wake-up call.”

White noted the region's flooding problems are tied to commercial and residential development in areas such as Jackson Township.

“The flooding is just a symptom of the bigger issue: What do we, as a community, want the Connoquenessing Creek to be?” White said. “The creek is a public policy issue.”

This is an excerpt from a story appearing in Monday's Butler Eagle.